Towel holder



Nov. 2, 1943. 5, JONES 2,333,254

TOWEL HOLDER Filed April 3, 1941 Patented Nov. 2, 1943 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE TOWEI: FOLDER Jonathan S. Jones, Oak Park, Ill. Aplication April 3, 1941, Serial No. 386,677

7 Claims. (01. 24-155) This invention relates to a holder for towels orlike articles, the towel or the like merely being inserted by pressingthe towel inwardly of the holder.

Previous towel holders of the above type while The present invention hasfor its principal ob- I ject means for supporting the towel whereby arelatively great amount of pulling must be exerted on the towel torelease it from the holder but at the same time the towel may beinserted in the holder with practically no effort at all.

Furthermore, the invention has for an additional object the provision ofa support having an opening provided therein, with a resilient flap soarranged with respect to an engaging edge of the towel receptacle orframe that the towel may be inserted easily by pushing it into thereceptaclebut is prevented from being removed downwardly except byexerting a relatively hard pull on the towel; the towel may be releasedeasily either by pulling upwardly on the towel or by manually depressingthe rubber member inwardly.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a receptacle havingan opening therein, with a rubber tongue or disc positioned behind theopening, and a rigid backing element behind the rubber member so as tomaintain a relatively great amount of pressure against a flange of thereceptacle whereby to permit easy insertion of a towel or the like, butpreventing the towel from being removed downwardly except by arelatively hard pull to release it from co,- operating edges on thereceptacle and rubber tongue or disc.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a towel or thelike holder having a body portion provided with an Opening which iscovered substantially by a flap member or tongue, the flap member ortongue having an end spaced a relatively short distance away from asupporting edge or flange of the receptacle or holder whereby a towel orother article .to be supported by the holder is impinged between thelower edge of the flap or disc and the rigid edge of the co-operatingreceptacle flange.

A still further object is the provision of a towel or the like holder ofthe character above described inwhich the towel is held by a wedgingaction against downward pull.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout theprogress of the following specification.

The accompanying drawing illustrates selected embodiments of theinvention and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a detail front elevational view of a towel holder andembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail rear plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail front view of another form of towel holder andembodying the invention;

Fig. 5 is a rear view of .the device shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. .6 is .a detail sectional view on the line 6.6 of Fig. 4.

The particular towel holder shown in Figs. 1 to 3 comprises a relativelycircular body I', having a flat front 2. The front .2 is cut away toprovide an opening 3 of substantially the size and shape disclosed inFig. 1. The body v,l may be made of metal, plastic, Bakelite, .or othersuitable .material and includes an annular integral depending flange or:apron .4. The apron A is relatively narrow as indicated .at :5 in Fig.2, and relatively wide as indicated at 6v in that figure, whereby thebody when applied in position on .a wall assumes an angular position,.as .clearlyshown in Fig. 3. integral attaching ears I may be formed onthe rim or apron 4 to re,- ceive fastening me ns for securing the devicein position on a support .8, Fig. 3.

Aiiexible rubberr-like tongue 5 is positioned behind the front surface Iand ,covers practically th entir a a fzt op in 3 c p at t nd n wh re.196 mmw'i ee ih bo t edge -;l l of the holderor .bodyto provide a r elatively narrow slot or opening J 2. The provision of th d o t eWbb-QEHKBM HD an the co-operating edge .ll of the body providesco-operating surfaces or locking jaws to secure a towel [3, Fig. 3, inposition. A backing plate 14 is arranged ,beh'indfthe rubberglike member.9 and extends, downwardly predetermined dis tance into the opening asclearly shownin Figs. 2 and 3 to stiffen somewhat the flexible memberSandtoladd ,acerta in amount .of rigidityth tc tightly against the undersurface of the top 2. The towel I3 is adapted to be positioned bytucking in anend or edge thereof in the manner shown in Fig. 3 so that apart or end of the towel will extend inwardly of the locking edge H onthe body and be engaged by the locking edge III of the rubber-likemember 8. When the towel is inserted the rubber-like member yieldseasily to permit quick and easy insertion of the towel but when itis'attempted to be withdrawn, the edges l and Hwillcause the towel to beimpinged between these locking surfaces and thereby maintain the towelin proper position; and while the towel may be removed by pulling on thetowel, a relatively strong pull must be provided to release the towelfrom between the I edges of the locking jaws l0 and III The backingplate l4 may be secured in position behind the rubber-like member 9 inany well known manner, such as by riveting, soldering, or the like. Ifdesired, the body I may be provided with spaced apart upper and loweropenings l and IE to receive fastening devices l1 and I8, respectively,for fastening .the holder to a wall or other support8. The rubber member9 is preferably made considerablylarger than the opening 3, as shown inFig. 2, so asto prevent the rubber-like member 9 from being pulled outthrough the opening 3 when a severe strain or hard pull is applied tothe towel. The provision of the rubber-like member Sand its'co-operating backing member l4 allows a towel to be easily inserted inposition because of the flexibility of the rubber-like member 9,'butprevents the towel from being withdrawn unless an extremely hard pull isapplied to the towel. The towel may, however, be very easily and quicklyremoved by pressing inwardly on the member 9'so as to release the towelbetween the locking edges land II.

The towel holder shown in Figs. 4 to 6,.inclusive, embodies the sameprinciples as the structure previously described as'regards Figs. 1 and3. However, instead of making an inclined body, as shown in Figs. 1 and3, the depending flange or apron 4 is of the samesize throughout so thatthe body I assumes a relatively cylindrical form. Instead of providingthe relatively shield shaped opening shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the holderdisclosedin Figs. 4 to 6 has a circular opening 29 behind which arelatively circular rubber-like member 2| is mounted.- .Thecirculanflexible rubber-like member 2|. is relatively disc-shaped. The bottomedge'of the disc 2| is spaced somewhat from the edge'of the body toprovide a locking jaw 22 on the end of the rubber-like member whichco-operates with a locking Jaw 23 on the body I, there being a slightopening 24 provided between the said jaws. The purpose of the lock- 7ing jaws 22 and 23- is identical in all respects with that disclosed inFigs. 1 to 3. A backing plate [4 is also provided for the purpose ofadding rigidity to the flexible rubber-like disc 2|.

The aims and purposes ofthe construction disclosed in Figs. 4 to-6 areidentical with those disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3, the only differencebetween the two structures being in the shape of the openings, theaprons, and perhaps therubber-like members. 1

The invention provides an extremely inexpensive, simple device forsupporting a towel or other similar article, allowing the article to beinstantly and readily applied without any efiort but preventing thetowel from becoming accidentally displaced or dislodged when arelativeamount of strain or pull is applied to the towel; However,

when it is intentionally desirable to remove the towel, the same may beinstantly released by pressing inwardly on the rubber-like member.

Changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of theparts without departing from the spirit 'of the invention or sacrificingany of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all suchchanges as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A towel or the like holder comprising a body member having asubstantially rigid front face provided with an opening therein, saidopening being arranged to provide an edge of rigid material around atleast the lower portion of the opening, a flap member arranged on therear side of said front face and substantially closing said opening,said flap member being supported at its upper end and being resilientlyurged into contact with the rear side of said front face, said flapmember having a lower edge terminating a spaced distance above thebottom of said opening and cooperating with said rigid edge of theopening to provide locking jaws for clamping anarticle such as a towel,and said rigid edge of said opening having a shape converging-downwardlytowards the bottom of the opening to provide for clamping an article bywedging action against downward pull. v

2. A towel or the like holder comprising a. substantially rigid bodymember having a side wall and a frontface provided with an openingtherein, a one-piece flexible rubber-like member secured at its upperend behind the front face and substantially covering said opening, thelower edge of the rubber-like member being spaced a slight distance froman upstanding flanged edge of the body, the lower portion of the openingbeing of generally curvedcontour whereby the said edges are adapted forco-operation to lock an article such as a towel between said edgesagainst downward pull by a wedging action.

3. A towel or the like holder comprising a substantially rigid bodymember having a side wall and a front face provided with an openingtherein, a one-piece flexible rubber-like member secured at its upperend behind the front face and substantially covering said opening, thelower edge of the rubber-like member being spaced a slight distance froman upstanding flanged edge of the body, the lower portion of the openingbeing of generally curved contour whereby the said edges are adapted forco-operation to lock an article such as a towel between said edgesagainst downward pull by a wedging action, and a rigid backing member.arranged behind the flexible member and extending a predetermineddistance downwardly into the opening of the front face to normallymaintain the flexible member tightly against the rear side of the frontface of the body and tending to add rigidity to said flexible member.

4. A towel or the like holder comprising a body having a side wall and asurface adapted to engage a supporting surface and to be attachedthereto, a front face inclined at an angle with respect to theattachingface of the body whereby the holder when applied to a'flat surface willhave its front face inclined at an'angle, said front face being providedwith an opening, a one-piece flexible rubber-like member secured. at itsupper end behind said front face and substantially covering saidopening, but ,havingits bottom edge spaced a predetermined distance froman upstanding bottom edge of the body formed by the body materialsurrounding said opening whereby co-operating locking jaws are providedbetween said edges to receive and grip a towel therebetween againstdownward pull, and a backing member arranged behind the upper portion ofsaid flexible member and securely fastened to the under side of thefront face.

5. A towel or the like holder comprising a body having a side wall and asurface adapted to engage a supporting surface and to be attachedthereto, a front face inclined at an angle with respect to the attachingface of the body whereby the holder when applied to a fiat surface willhave its front face inclined at an angle, said front face being providedwith an opening, a one-piece flexible rubber-like member secured at itsupper end behind said front face and substantially covering saidopening, but having its bottom edge spaced a predetermined distance froman upstanding bottom edge of the body formed by the body materialsurrounding said opening whereby co-operating locking jaws are providedbetween said edges to receive and grip a towel therebetween againstdownward pull, and a backing member arranged behind said flexible memberand securely fastened to the under side of the front face, said backingmember extending entirely across said opening and downwardly apredetermined distance below the upper edge of the opening.

6. A towel or the like holder comprising a body having a side wall and asurface adapted to engage a supporting surface and to be attachedthereto, a front face inclined at an angle with respect to the attachingface of the body whereby the holder when applied to a flat surface willhave its front face inclined, said face having an opening shapedsubstantially in the form of a shield whereby inwardly extending sideedges of the body face converge toward the bottom of the opening, aone-piece rubber-like member secured at its upper end behind the faceand substantially covering the opening, the lower edge of the memberbeing spaced slightly from the converging lower edges of the material ofthe body at the bottom of the opening to form co-operating locking jawsfor securing a towel by wedging action against downward pull, and alocking member behind the rubber-like member to render rigidity to therubber-like member.

7. A towel or the like holder comprising a substantially rigid bodymember having a side wall and a front face, said front face beingprovided with an opening, said opening being of such shape as to provideinwardly extending side edges on the body face which generally convergetowards the bottom of the opening, a one piece rubber-like membersecured at its upper end behind the face and substantially covering theopening, the lower edge of said member being spaced slightly from theconverging lower edges of the material of the body at the bottom of theopening to form co-operating clamping jaws for securing a towel bywedging action against a downward pull, and a relatively rigid platemember behind the upper portion of the rubber-like member to renderrigidity to the rubber-like member.

JONATHAN S. JONES.

